Beauties of the Night / Bellas de noche, the celebrated documentary debut feature by Mexican director María José Cuevas will have its much anticipated international premiere at the 43rd edition of the Telluride Film Festival and at the 41st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
A popular hit at the Mexican touring film festival Ambulante in its local premiere earlier this year, Beauties of the Night is a captivating group portrait of iconic showgirls who enthralled thousands during the disco-era heyday of Mexico’s burlesque culture.
TIFF's documentary programmer Thom Powers writes: "Shifting elegantly between eye-popping archival materials and endearingly frank new interviews, Cuevas introduces us to Olga Breeskin, who actually began her performing career playing classical violin with her father; to Lyn May, who, now in her sixties, happily maintains a rigorous daily regimen of exercise and intercourse and extols the virtues of having sex in trees; to Rossy Mendoza, who to this day dances in elaborate headdresses with seductive dexterity; to Princesa Yamal, who speaks of the spiritual strength required to hold a large audience transfixed, but who also had her career stalled when she was wrongly convicted for robbery.
Beauties of the Night presents us a trove of extraordinary women living long and eventful lives, learning to make the most of the inevitable realities of aging in an unforgiving culture. Cuevas presents their fascinating stories with tremendous affection, humor, curiosity, and, above all, dignity."
María José Cuevas' is the only Latin American film at this year's documentary section at TIFF, and it will play as part of the 'Frontlot/Backlot' sidebar at Telluride, a section dedicated to behind-the-scenes movies and portraits of artists, musicians and filmmakers. The Telluride Film Festival will take place September 2-5 in Colorado, and the Toronto Film Festival will take place September 8-18 in Canada.
